Faith

Friday, June 12, 2026Faith

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... I now understand that St. Anthony's true hope is not the finding of lost things, but the finding, reconciling, and healing of persons.

Archbishop Richard G.
Henning

One of the distinctive features of the Catholic faith is the naming of saints. The Church recognizes men and women who lived lives of extraordinary faith and witness by the process of beatification and canonization. In addition to considering the characteristics of the saint's life and the nature of their self-offering to God, the process considers whether there are ongoing effects of that life even after death. Is there ongoing commemoration of their witness? When seeking intercession, is there concrete evidence of the effects of that intercession by verifiable miracles? When the criteria are met, the Holy Father declares that a given saint is worthy of universal veneration.
One of the fastest canonizations occurred when St. Anthony was canonized less than one year after his death in 1231. His feast day is tomorrow, June 13. St. Anthony is claimed by Portugal, where he was born and raised, and Padua, Italy, where he served as a Superior in the Franciscan Order. You can see that mixed heritage in the parishes of the archdiocese. St. Anthony of Lisbon is honored at St. Anthony Parish in Cambridge, and St. Anthony of Padua is honored by the parishes in the North End. I am always careful to get the title right in the respective parishes!

His canonization was so rapid because of his remarkable life and engagement in the mission of the Gospel. He was well educated in the Word of God in the academic sense and in the sense of a lived mystery. He was famous for his preaching -- preaching that deepened the faith of believers and brought others into the fold. One of his more famous moments took place in Rimini, a community where many had fallen away from the faith. The people there were not willing to go and hear him preach, so he went to the shore and preached to the fish. The crowds, curious to know what he might say to fish, followed, listened, and found their hearts so moved that they embraced the faith anew. Anthony served as a formator of seminarians and had a heart for the poor, the sick, and the suffering. Like the founder of his order, St. Francis, the Gospel was alive in his way of living.
Today, St. Anthony is probably best known as the patron of lost things. This association dates to a moment when a fellow Franciscan left religious life and stole a Book of Psalms that was important to St. Anthony's teaching of seminarians. He prayed for its return, and it did return along with the errant brother who repented and resumed religious life. It is customary in the Catholic Church to name various saints as patrons to places, persons, and activities. It is a means by which believers are drawn closer to a particular witness and may forge a spiritual relationship with a saint as intercessor.
As a child, my mother taught me to seek St. Anthony's intercession when I could not find an important item. She also taught me to offer St. Anthony a pledge of a gift to the poor should the item be found. While that might sound a little bit transactional, it was in fact an acknowledgment of St. Anthony's own affection for the poor and a way of living his example of humble generosity. Over the years, I have misplaced and lost many things. In so many instances, large and small, St. Anthony came through. As I have grown older and more forgetful, it seems that I need his intercession more than ever. I still invoke his help and make my offerings to the poor in his name. At the same time, I now understand that St. Anthony's true hope is not the finding of lost things, but the finding, reconciling, and healing of persons. When I feel lost, I look to his example, trust his friendship, and know the truth that the Lord is always near at hand.
Through the intercession of St. Anthony, may we all be found!

- Archbishop Richard G. Henning is the Archbishop of Boston